Meet our U.S. Commissioners and our Canadian Commissioners

Tony Kilduff (U.S. Co-Chair)
Tony was born and raised in Ireland and moved to Canada in 1979 to pursue a doctoral degree in economics at Queens' University In Kingston Ontario. After studying and teaching in Canada for ten years he moved to Washington to take a teaching position at Seattle University. In 1993 he left the University and joined Seattle City Light and has worked for the City in a variety of capacities since that date.

Dennis Canty (Commissioner)
Dennis is President of Evergreen Funding Consultants, a Seattle firm which helps clients raise funding for salmon recovery and other environmental projects. Prior to starting the firm in 2001, Dennis worked for a coalition of Puget Sound governments managing strategies that raised more than $30 million in State and Federal funding for local salmon projects. He also directed the campaign to create the Puget Sound Initiative, a new $40 million regional restoration program. His twenty-year career in conservation and planning includes assignments managing river and watershed programs for local, State and Federal agencies. When he's not working, Dennis enjoys sailing and spending time with his wife Jackie and daughters Elena and Julia.

Marty Loesch (Commissioner)
Marty is the attorney for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in La Conner, Washington. He represents the Tribe in negotiations with local State and Federal governments and advises on a range of economic enterprises. Marty has a history of involvement in human rights issues and worked as an international law consultant for Catholic Relief Services in connection with the Kosovo refugee crisis. When he's not at the office, Marty enjoys spending time with his wife Cindy and their little daughter Ruby.

Shirley Solomon (Commissioner)
Shirley is the co-founder and chair of the Skagit Watershed Council, a community partnership for salmon operating in the Skagit Watershed, downstream of Ross Dam. South African born, Shirley immigrated to the United States in the mid-1960's, earned a graduate degree in environmental planning from Arizona State University and settled in the Pacific Northwest, twenty-five years ago. She has served as a consultant to government, utilities, tribes and private companies throughout the western states. At the Seattle-based Northwest Renewable Resources Center, a not-for-profit specializing in environmental mediation, she served for a number of years as a project director and works in the same capacity at Long Live the Kings, a not-for-profit dedicated to the recovery of Pacific salmon. She lives on Fir Island in Skagit County.

Tom Brucker (Alternate Commissioner)
Tom's legal career has spanned thirty-seven years, much of which was spent in his own legal practice.  Tom joined the North Cascades Conservation Council in 1964 and has been a committed environmentalist ever since. He was a member of the original R.O.S.S. (Run Out Skagit Spoilers) Committee in 1974 whose actions paved the way for the negotiations leading to the 1984 Treaty. Tom also belongs to the Bicycle Alliance and takes extended biking trips in Europe with his wife Mary.

Ken Wilcox (Alternate Commissioner)
Ken is an avid hiker and mountaineer from Bellingham with a particular passion for the old trees and high meadows of the North Cascades. He works as an environmental planner for his own firm, Osprey Environmental Services Inc. which specializes in trail planning and design. He is also a writer and publisher , having produced several regional hiking guides to Northwest Washington from the San Juans to the Cascades, as well as a book on forest conservation in Chile. If it wasn't for trails, Ken would be living under a rock somewhere, eating roots and berries.

Alison Studley (Alternate Commissioner) Alison has a graduate degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington. For the past eight years she has been Executive Director of the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group (SFEG), an organization dedicated to salmon restoration.  Alison has been a lifelong resident of the Skagit Valley. She enjoys river rafting, sea kayaking and hiking and believes strongly in preserving the beauty of the area for future generations.

Peter Kennedy (Canadian Co-Chair)
Peter is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Law Society of BC. He has been practising general law in Chilliwack and Hope since 1975. Past positions include Chair of the BC Health Association and Trustee of Fraser Canyon Hospital. Peter enjoys hiking, camping, cross country skiing and cycling in his spare time.

Lex Bennett(Commissioner)
Lex is a banker and investment adviser whose strong financial skills are a proven asset to the Commission. He has lived with his family in the Hope area for the past eighteen years and enjoys hiking and kayaking in the Skagit and vacationing at his cabin at Mayne Island in his spare time.

Pete Caverhill (Commissioner)
Pete began fishing for trout at the age of fifteen and has been involved with fish in one capacity or another ever since. He started work as a fish and wildlife technician for the Province of British Columbia and recently retired as a senior regional fisheries biologist after thirty -five years in recreational and conservational fisheries management. He is the current president of the BC Federation of Fly Fishers and can be found casting for cutthroat off the saltwater beaches or rainbow trout in the Skagit as often as life permits.

Ken Farquharson (Commissioner)
Ken Farquharson's first visit to the Upper Skagit Valley was in 1960 and he has been a tireless advocate ever since. He was a member of the Run Out Skagit Spoilers (R.O.S.S.) Committee from 1968-1983 and has considerable expertise in BC land issues. A former civil engineer, Ken's favorite hobbies are hiking, camping and nature observation.

Thomas D. Bird
(Alternate Commissioner)
Tom Bird is the past Executive Director of the Sport Fishing Institute of BC. Previously, he was the Director of Recreational Fishing and a biologist and Director of Habitat for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. He is written numerous operational papers, policy documents, and amendments to acts and regulations within the field of Fisheries. Within his community, he is involved with the Sport Fishing Advisory Board, Canada/US Salmon Treaty Negotiations, Fraser River Panel, Sport Fishing Institute of BC, and Langara Fishing Adventures. Mr. Bird holds his Masters of Science from the University of British Columbia.

Shaun D. Hollingsworth
(Alternate Commissioner)
Shaun Hollingsworth is a former Quality Insurance Inspector for Telus. Within his community, he is the Vice President of Finance for the BC Wildlife Foundation and a Director for the BC Conservation Foundation. In addition, he is a Board Member of the Salmon Enhancement Advisory Board, Sport Fishing Advisory Board, North Shore Stream. Mr. Hollingsworth is also the past President of the North Shore Fish and Game Club.  

Tracey Herron
(Alternate Commissioner)
Tracy is a member of Chilliwack Search and Rescue and frequently on-call to respond to emergencies in the wilderness. When she's not working at a local dental practice, Tracey can be found hiking, kayaking, biking or mountaineeering in the Upper Skagit with her husband and two teenage daughters.